Garment factory workers have been demonstrating and engaging in violent street protests to call for a 5000 taka monthly minimum wage. The government has come to meet them more than half way. It is offering a 3000 taka monthly wage that will be announced later on Thursday afternoon.
The Daily Star reports that the Labor and Employment Minister claimed the following at his Secretariat:
“Minimum wage for RMG workers won’t be less than Tk 3000. We’ll formally announce the new wage structure at 5:00pm on July 29,”
Though its not the whole pie, it’s a larger, more sizable portion that they been used to getting. At least that improvement offers something to celebrate.
The current minimum wage is set at Tk 1200, and during an interim period it will rise to Tk 2,500 before topping out at Tk 3000. The Prime Minister has sworn that the new minimum wage will be complemented by a set of allowances that will include travel expenses.
This set of moves though in the works previous to the recent civil strife, has been expedited because of the factory workers street protests. The garments manufacturing industry has come to a rubber burning halt. The new government mandated minimum wage is designed to put these protests to rest.
Nevertheless, factory owners have gone on the record to say that many of their colleagues will be forced to shutter their factories when this wage hike works through the overhead of the firms.